Tag Archives: france

“Think Like A Man” Allegedly Banned In France Because It’s Not “Diverse” Enough

Tokenism?
Erica says lay off "Girls" for being all-white and give black girls a show. Read More »
Race On
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Teyonah Parris on playing "Mad Men"'s first black employee. Read More »
Where Are Black Folks?
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Matt Weiner explains why there aren't more black folks on "Mad Men." Read More »
Rihanna Called N-Word
Jackie magazine refers to Rihanna as "N----Bitch." Read More »
Think Like A Man

“Think Like A Man,” the new Tyler Perry romantic comedy [Update: based on a book by Steve Harvey] about black women and men, has allegedly been banned in France because officials say the film is not diverse enough. According to blogger Fabienne Flessel at the blog Global Voices:

Surprising as it may be, the answer lies in the fact that the film has an all-black cast. French cinema is often pointed at for not fairly displaying all components of the country’s multiethnic population. 

It is unclear, though, whether “Think Like A Man” has literally been banned, or if it just is not being screened. But the Global Voices blogger and several other French-speaking bloggers quoted/translated in his article seem adamant that someone in a position of power in France is uninterested in promoting films by and about black folks. One blogger claims “Tyler Perry’s movies are never scheduled in any French movie theaters or are only released in DVDs, even thought he has been used to leading the U.S. box office.”  Keep reading »

What Does François Hollande’s Election Mean For French First Lady Fashion?

Carla Bruni's Vices
Carla Bruni photo
She missed smoking and drinking while pregnant. Read More »
First Ladies Coordinate
I don't think these matching outfits are a coincidence. Read More »
First Lady Beauty Contest
Michelle showed Carla who's boss. Read More »

It grieves me to see Nicolas Sarkozy leave French office, and why? Because I am positively enraptured by his wife (okay, fine, I’m also really worried about what this means for anti-Semitism in France). Her life (and Wikipedia page) reads like a dramatic novel: a nine-year-old heiress to a tire fortune moves to Paris to flee a wave of kidnappings by a revolutionary group active in Italy and later leaves her prestigious art school at age 19 to become a model. I’m sorry, is that a bit of an understatement? In the ’90s, Bruni earned an average of $7.5 million a year working for houses such as Christian Dior, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, and Chanel, which landed her well among the ranks of the highest-paid fashion models. She dated both Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger at varying points during her career before quitting fashion in 1997 to become an incredibly successful pop singer in France.

Carla Bruni has always been influential, to say the least, but her worthy presence in the gossip pages was all but solidified in 2007 by her marriage to the newly divorced Sarkozy after a four-month courtship. The star underwent a sort of moral metamorphosis (before meeting Sarkozy, she had proclaimed herself as “forever left wing”) and has been tabloid fodder since, yielding criticism from every direction. Her luxe wardrobe sparked controversy as the nation succumbed to a recession, not to mention the publication of compromisingly risqué photographs from her modeling days. As far as First Ladies go, I daresay Bruni is — was — as scandalous as they come. She’s also the most chic, with a predisposition to innately glamorous, infinitely expensive dressing. Keep reading »

Life Is Meaningless For Henri, The Existential French Cat

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L’enfer c’est les autres. Hell is other people. And other cats. No one knows this more than Henri, the existential French cat. He’s black and white, of course. And no one, no one, knows his torment. [The FW]

Sweets For The Sweet (In Paris!)

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Travel with Winona to Paris! Read More »
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Leonora lived in Paris for a year and brought us along with her. Read More »

Who wouldn’t jump at the chance to move to Paris for work? Amy Thomas was a copywriter in New York City when one day her boss offered her a dream gig writing copy for Louis Vuitton — in the City of Lights. Sold! But unlike other ladies who’ve flown across the pond, Amy wasn’t looking for l’amour or even la mode. This sugar-freak intended to use her time in Paris snarfing sweets all the best patisseries and boulangeries, which she lovingly recaps in her foodie memoir, Paris, My Sweet: A Year In The City Of Light (And Dark Chocolate). If an Air France flight is not in your budget, Paris, My Sweet should satiate any cravings you might have … at least temporarily. [$10.19, Amazon]

The French Can Even Sexualize Friggin’ Weight Watchers Ads

Gay Men Don't Get Fat
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French Women Secrets
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French Weight Watchers ad photo
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First of all, we need to discuss: the French have Weight Watchers? Whatever happened to French Women Don’t Get Fat? Zut alors! Excuse me while I call Le Boyfriend toute suite to inform him of this stunning factoid, as his most beloved leisure time activity is to sneer at Americans licking Cheeto dust from between their fingers.

But of course, since France does have Weight Watchers, they will find a way to make it sexy. Super-sexy. Phallic-foods-enticingly-fed-into-glossed-and-lipsticked-mouths-super-sexy. 

See images from the French Weight Watchers campaign after the jump:

Keep reading »

Au Revoir, “Mademoiselle”: French Town Ditches “Sexist Title”

Is Chivalry Sexist?
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Is being a gentleman actually really sexist? Read More »
Sexist Beliefs
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Sexist beliefs are passed down more from mothers than fathers, study finds. Read More »
Sexist Ads
Not all advertising campaigns are sexist and offensive. Read More »

A French town has decided it is sexist to refer to women by their marital status and will no longer be using the word “mademoiselle” — which means unmarried woman — on official documents.

Cesson-Sevigne in Brittany stopped using “mademoiselle” on January 1 and  will henceforth refer to all women as “madame,” which is the term for married women or older women. ”This is about getting rid of anything that could be seen as discriminatory or indiscreet,” the town hall of Cesson-Sevigne said in a statement. ”Having two different terms to distinguish between married and non-married women is discrimination against women as there is no such differentiation for men.”  Keep reading »

Watch Cute French Boys Sing Beyoncé!

French Women Secrets
How French women stay hot when they're old! Read More »
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If there’s one thing we love more than Beyoncé, it’s cute French boys. And our favorite gay blog Queerty is all over this awesome clip of two hotties named Bertrand and Mattieu, lip-synching and dancing their French asses off to “Crazy In Love.” It’s kind of the best thing ever — and proof that Bey is fabulous in any language! [Queerty]

France Considers Prostitution Ban

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prostitution photo

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is crying into his champagne: politicians are considering a ban on prostitution in France. The law would make it illegal to pay for sex, punishing johns with six month prison sentences and $4,000 fines. Currently a john will only be punished if the prostitute is underage or “particularly vulnerable,” such as from illness; pimping is also illegal. Keep reading »

Irish Accents Surpass French Accents As The World’s Sexiest, Supposedly

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Irish guy photo

Zut alors! French, the language of l’amour, is “the world’s sexiest accent” no more. According to a poll of 5,000 women worldwide, cited in the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper, ladies most desire to be whispered sweet nothings in an Irish lilt, followed by Italian declarations of amore. Scottish was named the fourth sexiest accent, followed by French, Australian and then English. Now, anyone who has heard Chris O’Dowd’s adorable acecnt in “Bridesmaids” won’t disagree with these findings. But you know who does disagree? My French dude, who sniffed, “Misinformation, that’s a British newspaper, they hate the French because their women love us.” So there you go. 

What accent do you think is the sexiest? [Daily Mail UK] Keep reading »

Holiday Gift Guide: 10 Gifts For The Francophile Girl

Holiday Gift Guide
Everything you'll ever need for your holiday shopping. Read More »

Confession: I’m a little bit obsessed with blogs written by American girls living in Paris. Their style, their food, their apartments, their men … ooh la la!  My favorite is Making Magique, but I also like Badaude, the group blog HipParis and Dead Fleurette (who lives in Oslo, but is a Francophile). Maybe I’m deeply jealous of my friend Leonora Epstein, who wrote The Frisky’s 365 Days In Paris series. Or maybe I’m just envious of a world where the lighting always looks just-so. Or maybe I just want to wear red lipstick and polka dots without apology.

Either way, I’m going through a serious Francophile phase myself and hoping my holidays are filled with macarons and Chanel perfume. Shopping for a wannabe Parisian this holiday season? Allons-y! Keep reading »